


The Punch

by winterhats



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kisaragi Shintaro doesn't understand emotions, Mentions of Suicide, Minor Violence, based on other media, post-STR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterhats/pseuds/winterhats
Summary: Shintaro is very bad with words, but he still attempts to ammend his friendship with Takane.(Post STR. Shintaro is still butthurt over the way Takane didn't tell him she was Ene).
Relationships: Enomoto Takane | Ene & Kisaragi Shintaro, Enomoto Takane/Kokonose Haruka | Ene/Konoha, Kisaragi Shintaro/Tateyama Ayano
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	The Punch

**Author's Note:**

> //Writes about Shintaro and Takane's friendship for the 434565345th time// I'm sorry. I love their bond. This fic isn't very serious anyway, so I had a lot of fun writing it. Also Shintaro's POV is just so fun...
> 
> This is loosely based on a bit from an episode of The Office (HEHE) S06E09!

It wasn't everyday such a miserable being like him gets to say their life is perfect. And that isn't to say Shintaro's life is perfect, but for someone who knows what real misery feels like, this felt pretty close to it.

Ayano sat criss crossed on the couch, next to him, and eminently stared at the screen playing the credits of the movie she was so excited about watching. Shintaro himself didn't really care for it, since he's not into superheroes or anything, but it's something he can endure as long as he gets to listen to Ayano's excited platter over them.

She seemed very passionate and _very_ attached to the characters, and as many times as he knows she's watched this, he knows the scene where one of the main characters sacrifices himself for the greater good still gets Ayano teary eyed. So when she's silent even after the credits keep rolling and rolling, he doesn't think anything of it.

That's why it's so shocking when she turns to him and says, "You should apologize to Takane-san."

Shintaro can only blink at his girlfriend with a confused smile, "Excuse me."

"You should apologize to Takane-san," Ayano repeats, more determined this time. She changes her position, still sitting criss crossed but now in his direction, and suddenly Shintaro wanted his mom to arrive home, interrupt their movie date and start showering Ayano in excited compliments and questions. "She's very upset with you, you know?"

Completely unaffected by the statement, Shintaro groans and leans back in the couch. He takes his can of soda with him, and takes a sip of it as if to make time for himself as he thought of an answer. Too bad he used those five extra seconds to _not_ think of said answer. In the end, he just goes, "Upset about _what?_ "

"You can't be seriously asking _what..._ " it isn't everyday Ayano shows him her angry side, but the way she furrows her brows makes Shintaro think he might be in dangerous waters right now. "You were horrible to her...! She wasn't even asking you to thank her or anything! She was just– "

"Why are we talking about this all of a sudden?" Shintaro sighs. It's true Ayano had been a bit off today, but he couldn't believe this could be the reason. "Weren't you getting teary-eyed over Batman or whatever?"

Ayano fulminates him with a glare, as if she wanted to dissect him on the spot, "We are watching Marvel. Batman is from DC."

She looked so genuinely offended, he felt the need to get on the floor to kneel down and apologize.

Luckily he composes himself before that could happen. Shintaro gulps, " _Wh – whatever._ What's gotten into you? Why is this suddenly such a big deal?"

"Okay, first of all, it has _always_ been a big deal, Shintaro!" Ayano puffs up her cheeks. "And secondly– "

She goes quiet, as if she was unsure to go on. Shintaro moves his chin forward, and raises an eyebrow to gesture her to continue, "Secondly?"

Ayano takes a deep breath, and replaces the annoyed expression with a gloomy one, "I was just talking about it with her yesterday. No reason, really, the subject just came up. And she got really upset about it! ...She is very sad about it!"

_Ah, so that's what's been on her mind..._

"Huh, is she," he says, making sure to really drill in the lack of emotion in his words.

" _Yes,_ she is," Ayano _did_ seem to care. "You said terrible things to her."

He feels his heart stop for a second, "Did she tell you those things?"

"She wasn't very specific, but whatever it might've been, it must've been pretty hurtful!"

Shintaro sighs again, somehow relieved. It's true he said some terrible things to her, so he thinks about it for a moment.

Alright, he admits that he hadn't been particularly graceful when handling the "Ene is Takane" situation.

The whole thing was more of a momentary fight, when she had gotten back in her body, and it was over the second Mary yelled at them to stop arguing so she could sleep. Yeah, it wasn't anywhere near what anyone would call "resolved." Not even after everything around them _was_ resolved, as Ayano and Haruka came back to them. Nothing.

Not that Shintaro _cared,_ though he wishes the same applied to Takane. The way she relentlessly tried to reconcile with him as if they ever had a friendship to reconcile in the first place was almost laughable.

Though that attitude of his is what made Takane's behaviour to shift from apologetic and understanding to the Devil's spawn itself. Because that's Takane for you! Don't take her first apology and then you're dead to her, right?

So at one point, her usual "let's just talk this out" turned into "don't even look in my direction if you appreciate having all ten of your fingers."

Suddenly, she wasn't desperate to ammend things anymore. Suddenly, she was snapping back at him, coldly, angrily. It was like they were back in highschool, Shintaro liked to think, ignoring the knowing feeling in his mind of how this was far more serious than back then.

It's just that back then Takane was slightly less– well, murderous. And that already says a lot.

Back then, either of them (usually him) would make a comment and the other (usually her) would snap at the other which would drive them to a never ending argument until Haruka or Ayano or both shut them up. He didn't enjoy that either, of course, but Takane was honestly just the minor annoyance he had to deal with in order to hang out with his actual friends.

So that's what he told her and why she's so angry at him. What? All he did was be honest. Why is Ayano acting like that was so wrong?

They were fighting everyday, all the time. The Dan, including Ayano and Haruka, were always calmly telling Takane "to let it go", and it was _so infuriating_ that they'd all say that to her as if _he_ was the unreasonable one and she shouldn't waste her time on him. Ugh.

Just remembering it makes Shintaro's blood boil. Good thing Takane stopped talking to him altogether once he made it clear to her she means nothing to him, and the "work" she did as Ene was nothing but a constant pain in the ass.

Ayano is still staring at him impatiently, and with this thought, Shintaro shrugs, wanting to get this conversation over with, "...Alright, I might've gone overboard but... I don't think it's serious enough for me to apologize. I mean, come on, Ayano, it's been weeks. Maybe even months?"

She sighs, as if she knew that was exactly what he was gonna say, "You can't just... keep pretending you don't care about Takane-san, you know?"

"I'm not pretending, I– "

_I mean, sure, I'd be sad if she died–_

Well, technically, she _did_ die at one point. Though Shintaro can't really remember how he felt about it back then. He only remembers being despaired over Ayano. Sometimes over Haruka, though with him he coped by just trying not to think about him. Because Haruka's death had been inevitable; he had trusted Shintaro with the real gravity of his condition. On the other hand, Ayano was... something Shintaro could've helped with. Something he could've prevented, maybe? If only he had cared enough, he would've– 

He shakes his head, and looks at Ayano in front of him. Alive, healthy, happy.

Right. He can't keep letting himself drown in the past when his present is so bright and beautiful, all because of this girl sitting in front of him, who was willing to give him a second chance to correct his horrible behaviour.

However, the bright, beautiful, alive, healthy and happy girl in front of him is still frowning.

She very much did not like what he began to say before his mind went down to haunting memories. Since he didn't know what else to do, Shintaro shrugs again, "I – I don't know, Ayano. I _know_ that her being there while... while you were gone... did help me, and it... might've been because of her that I didn't– go through with... you know. But at the same time it's just so– _infuriating_ the way she went about it. She couldn't properly help me, _no,_ she had to torment the crap out of me and then reveal she was someone I knew all along _and then_ expect gratitude!? And _I'm_ the bad guy!?" 

Ayano softens her expression, and it feels like she finally understands where he's coming from, but he knows she's far too fair to do that, "I get why you'd be upset, but Takane-san has been apologizing for the things she needed to apologize for and you still rebuffed every attempt of making peace she offered. Of course you weren't the bad guy– It's not about that. But you... _did_ end up making yourself this "bad guy" when you became too stubborn to accept Takane-san as a friend."

"A friend," Shintaro rolls his eyes. "Don't make me laugh."

"Why are you being so cold?" Ayano speaks in disbelief. "You're not like this anymore. You... you're different from before. You've always been lovely, but now you don't try to hide it like back then. Why can't the Shintaro who is so nice to me be the same way to Takane-san?"

Ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch. She's really gonna play that card, isn't she?

Shintaro pauses for a moment, "...Would it make you happy if I did that?"

"Of course it would! It absolutely would!" Ayano's still not smiling, despite the absolute joy in her voice. "But most importantly it would make Takane-san happy. It'd make Haruka-san happy, and it'd make everyone happy... And I want it to make you happy too, Shintaro. I don't want you to talk to Takane-san out of obligation from me. I want you to do it because _you want to._ "

"You're asking something impossible of me, Ayano," Shintaro groans. He pushes his bangs up in exasperation, and it feels weird when his hair doesn't feel as greasy as he had became used to during the time he was too depressed to wash it. "I can't help not wanting to! What do you want me to do, to lie to you and say I do? I don't! I really don't!"

"I can't believe you... seriously feel like this..." Ayano says under her breath. She speaks up, though her upset tone made him wish she didn't, "You never even ask how she's doing!"

"Why the heck would I do that!? It's not like _she_ asks!"

"It shouldn't matter if she does– But if it's that important of a detail, let me inform you that Takane-san _never_ misses the chance to ask about how you're doing!"

That statement hits Shintaro like a ton of bricks. But he can't quite react to it properly, because Ayano hits it off with:

"I can't believe you hate her!"

And before he can help himself, Shintaro is stuttering out, "I don't _hate_ her– god, Ayano, I can understand it with Haruka because he's blinded by his sheer infatuation, but you? You of all people should believe me when I say she only ever pretended to care about me. Jesus."

"Why do you keep saying that? Why do you think she pretends?"

" _Because_ she spent all that time as an AI to get back at me for the way I treated her in highschool. Sure, I'm not saying I didn't deserve to be put in my place, but you can't just expect me to believe she had any other ulterior motive. If she did, she would've told me it was her and we could've mourned together. We could've been there for each other, but nope, Miss Too Good To Be Your Genuine Friend needed to get her revenge. I mean, sure, I didn't kill myself because of it so I guess that's a cool extra, but it's not like that was her intentional doing."

Ayano stares at him wide eyed, shaking her head and looking at him as if she couldn't believe her eyes. And all she has to say, is none more than, "You can't be serious."

Is she really gonna keep repeating this?

Before he could say that he _can_ and he _is,_ Ayano continues speaking,

"You think that Takane-san woke up from the dead, still not technically alive, and decided to spend her eternity bullying you just for– for _revenge?_ Over meaningless banter with a boy that she, according to you, wasn't even friends with?" she scoots away from him, and looks at him with such disapproval Shintaro felt he was about to melt into a puddle. "How self centered _are_ you?"

"...What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Ayano says, undoing her criss crossed sit and putting her feet on the floor. "That you should maybe try to look at things from another perspective. From the perspective of a girl who isn't quite dead or quite alive, but has lost everyone who meant something to her... and girl who ends up finding someone who is still here and has a chance on life _unlike_ her... and she could help him make the most of that chance."

She gets up. Shintaro is about to protest, because he didn't want her to leave– not yet, not like this. It only hits him now that they're having a fight over Enomoto Takane.

"I'm... I'm not saying her ways were the best, Shintaro," Ayano says, voice soft and understanding. She had her back to him, so he couldn't see her expression. "But she really, really tried. She wanted you to have what she couldn't, and what I couldn't, and what Haruka-san couldn't. She had no way to know things would turn out fine and we'd all be back here, living our normal lives."

And just like that, Ayano is out of his house, and Shintaro is left alone on his couch with the post-credits scene of a superhero movie playing in the TV.

* * *

This was far, far more difficult than he would like it to be. The way his stomach makes a knot of itself feels like an absolute nightmare, and the way his brain has decided to shut down and feel like mush didn't help either.

But he had made up his mind. He really did.

And he can't stand Ayano being mad at him.

After thinking (and maybe crying a little) over what Ayano told him, Shintaro came to the conclusion he knew all of it all along. He is just... very, very terrible when he gets angry. He starts saying things he doesn't even mean and then can't quite remember, and he believes Takane had been a victim of this.

He does remember things he's said, so those plus the ones he can't even remember must be an absolute gift to think about, huh? No wonder Takane doesn't even look at him anymore.

It hasn't been long since he's last seen her– really, he had just seen her last week when he dropped by the hideout to hang out, where Takane is currently living. Them not speaking to each other didn't mean they didn't _see_ each other, after all, they had way too many friends in common.

But spoken to her, especially face to face? Oh, boy. It's been... well, as he told Ayano: weeks, maybe a month or two? He isn't sure.

Shintaro waits impatiently outside the small diner he knows poor Takane has been able to land a job in. None of them are particularly wealthy, and especially for the ones back from the dead, finding jobs was as necessary as it was difficult. That is to say, very necessary and very difficult.

He remembers having made fun of Takane for having to endure such a horrible job as the one of a waitress, but now he feels pretty ashamed of it. At least she was competent and determined enough to get a job as soon as she got back on her feet, it's not like he can say the same for himself.

Okay, whatever. Self-deprecation aside, where the hell is Takane? He knows her break should've started around five minutes ago; he made sure to ask Haruka (who seemed overjoyed to know Shintaro was willing to talk things out with her) but she hasn't made any signs of appearing. He's seen her inside, walking around taking orders and doing her waitress thing, but she seemed to vanish as soon as the clock ticked for her break.

Now that he thinks about it, Takane seems more like the type who spends her breaks inside rather than outside. Shintaro looks over and sees who he assumes to be two of her co-workers chatting and smoking a few feet away from him.

A part of him wanted to say "welp! Didn't work! Let's go home!" but the other part, the one who knew Takane deserved better and also wanted Ayano to start talking to him again, made him stay put and take his phone out of his pocket.

He scrolls down until he finds her name in his messages, and he winces when he sees the last time they texted each other was two months ago. God, he can't believe he's doing this.

It's thanks to the hesitation and the fact he's an absolute wreck of nerves that he sends such an ominous message like _"look outside."_

He thinks it'd be too pathetic to correct it and he doesn't even know what to say to clarify, but he only has a few seconds to freak out before he looks up into the diner and sees Takane staring back at him, all the way from the door of the break room.

She was all the way at the back of the diner, but he could recognize her clearly, and given her shocked expression, she could recognize him too. All Shintaro could bring himself to do was awkwardly wave a hand at her.

Even from this distance, he sees the way she furrows her brows. He feels his heart sink to his stomach, thinking she'd hold up her middle finger and get back in the break room, but instead she starts making her way across the restaurant. Shintaro immediately turns around and prepares himself.

It's only seconds later he hears the door swing open, and again, he feels the urge to sprint and escape to a far away land. However, as he's too busy being frozen in place, Shintaro is unable to go through with this, and soon enough he sees a pair of small shoes in front of his own, so apparently fixating his eyes into the ground didn't work either.

He looks up and meets with Takane's severe gaze. Despite she's like a head shorter than him, she never fails to intimate him with those eyes.

Once his attention is on her, she crosses her arms, still dead quiet. She simply stares at him as if waiting for him to begin, which wasn't a good starter because Shintaro himself isn't a good starter.

He clears his throat, "Uh, hey."

"Hey," Takane answers immediately. She doesn't add anything else. Shintaro gulps.

He gestures to his own head as he says, "Uh, you. You cut your hair."

He can see how Takane sighs through her nose by the way she closes her eyes for a moment, "Yes."

"Uh, looks nice."

She doesn't thank him, "What do you want?"

This was ridiculous. She had cut her hair to her shoulders pretty recently but he's still seen it before, because again, _he's seen her just last week._

Suddenly, a third voice chimes in, though from a small distance, "Enomoto!"

Shintaro turns to see the co-workers of hers he saw before, standing not too far away and looking at them with curious eyes. It's a boy and a girl, and they're either their same age or perhaps just a few years older. Takane doesn't answer, and simply acknowledges them by turning her attention to them,

"We're on a dilemma here," the girl says, gesturing at the guy with her head. "This knucklehead here says he's getting "ex boyfriend" vibes from this guy and you, but I think you guys are siblings. Help us out?"

"He just told her "you cut your hair", we are clearly witnessing an exes' reunion," the guy argues, and Shintaro can hear Takane immediately groan. Still, nothing can prepare him by the way she grabs his arm and drags him away.

She doesn't take him anywhere incredible, and instead, they just walk further away from the nosy co-workers and the diner. They're still staring at them and talking with each other, but Takane didn't seem to care too much, "So? Are you gonna tell me why you're here or not?"

Again, it hasn't been long since he's seen her face or heard her voice, but having it be directed at him is so much different. He felt as if he hadn't seen her since highschool.

Trying to ignore those thoughts, he manages out, "I wanted to talk to you."

"You wanted to talk to me?" she repeats, and laughs dryly. "About?"

"About... uh..." he speaks lowly, and unsure of himself. He... really should've prepared a speech or something. He feels completely lost. On the way here he _was_ thinking of a couple of things to say, but right now they all seemed scattered around his mind and he's not able to grab any of them. "About how... I might've, uh, acted selfishly in the past and how I've probably, um. Been insensitive to the things you went through. And, um– "

"Ayano-chan or Haruka put you up to this, right?" Takane cuts him off, and before Shintaro can help himself, he goes,

"Yes, Ayano, _but–_ "

"God, I knew it," she lets out a heavy sigh, bringing a hand up to massage the bridge of her nose. She makes a small but long noise Shintaro can only describe as a groan, "Listen. Forget whatever Ayano-chan must've told you. You've made your thoughts very clear so there's no point in discussing it again, okay? See you."

She quickly turns around, and before Shintaro could even finish processing her words and what he was doing, he grabs her wrist in the panic, "Wait, really don't leave!"

Takane turns back to him and stares in utter confusion, that becomes anger as soon as she glances down and sees he's still grabbing her. He immediately lets go of her, "S – sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No," she says, but still makes circles with her wrist. She's still not walking away, though. "Look, I only got that upset when talking to Ayano-chan because she kept going about how upset she was the four of us don't hang out like we used to because you and I don't speak anymore. All I did was tell her I _tried_ to ammend things and you didn't want to. The offer's not on the table anymore, especially if it's just so you can get validation from Ayano-chan. Fuck off."

Oh. Yikes. Yes, this did sound terrible. Shintaro's not sure he'd want to hear anything from him either if he was in her place, really.

"No, Enomoto, listen, you're wrong– I – I mean, it's true Ayano is mad at me now but– " he begins, and Takane groans. He doesn't let that discourage him. "But I swear I mean it. I was a jerk."

"You _were._ "

"And– sure, you weren't the best either, but," okay, this is not going great. "But I – I see it now, okay? I – I said awful stuff to you, and no matter how angry the whole Ene thing made me, I still shouldn't have said those things, I went way too overboard."

Takane just stands there, as if waiting for something else, but that was all Shintaro could manage to come up with. It wasn't that he didn't mean it, and as much as Takane thought he's only doing this for Ayano, he genuinely feels like that's just half the reason. He is just...

_Very bad with words._

When it becomes apparent to her he wouldn't add anything else, she sighs, "Okay, that's it? I can go back in now? Good, bye."

"I, uh," Shintaro looks at her in confusion, not being able to figure out what this face meant. Did it mean things are fine? Did it mean they were not fine? God, he wishes he had a small Haruka on his shoulder telling him what each expression of Takane's means. Not that she has shown more than one expression in this "talk" (if it can even be called that). "Y – yeah, I guess? I just– uh, you're gonna tell Ayano I talked to you, right?"

He needs no small shoulder Haruka to see what Takane's roll of eyes means, "Goodbye, Shintaro."

She begins walking away again.

"Wait– Wait, wait, wait, wait, _wait,_ " he doesn't grab her this time, because he's sure she'll twist his arm off if he does, and instead he just runs behind her and gets in front of her to stop her.

Takane tries to dodge him, but he opens his arms as if to not give her space to escape. She stomps her foot on the ground, "What!? What do you want!?"

"What do _you_ want!" Shintaro yells back, "I'll do anything! How can I make this okay? Do you want me to give you money? Do you wanna hit me? Do you want me to get down on one knee and beg you? Do you want me t– "

"I wanna hit you."

It takes him a second to process.

"...What?"

Takane repeats, as stoic as before, "I wanna hit you, I'll do that."

"I– um, _what,_ " he laughs sardonically, as if she was gonna start laughing along with him, but of course she doesn't. "Um, okay I don't– _what?_ Are you joking?"

"No, I'm not. Are you?" 

" _No,_ I'm just– " Shintaro stares at her, looking for any signs of sarcasm or something, as if that wouldn't have been visible by this point, and starts sweating cold. "I– um. Um. Okay I'll– okay? I will? Take off my jacket? And tense up my stomach and you'll just– "

He was about to take off his jacket when Takane goes, "...No."

A small ray of hope washes over him, because she sounded apologetic and resigned, as if she was about to say it wouldn't matter either way and it really made no sense to hit him.

"I don't think I should hit you..."

"O – OKAY!"

"...Here. I don't think I should hit you here," Takane carries on, and Shintaro feels his soul leave his body."My boss is literally just in there and this is a family diner so it wouldn't be good. Let's do it after my shift ends."

"Huh."

"Yeah, at the hideout," she says, and for the first time in forever, Enomoto Takane smiles at him, "In front of everyone!"

"...Okay," is all Shintaro can say. This is not at all how he pictured this going. "I... okay?"

"Okay," Takane nods back, still wearing a radiant smile. "I'll see you then."

She pats his back before walking past him to come back inside, and Shintaro is just left there, standing in the parking lot and going over his life choices.

* * *

"Big brother!"

He hears Momo's voice behind him even before he hears the door swing open, "Hey, Momo– ...And company?"

Shintaro had been comfortably existing in his room, trying to finish a song and to distract himself from life itself, when an uninvited guest makes her appearance.

Which would be totally okay and normal, but... seems like Momo isn't by herself. Because all of a sudden there's Momo, Kido, Seto _and_ Mary standing inside his bedroom. Suddenly, he feels self conscious over the mess in his room, despite he knows they don't expect much else from him.

"Are you not gonna tell me why there's four too many people in this room right now?" Shintaro asks, and Momo nods, somehow acknowledging this was a valid thing to ask, which was insane coming from her.

"Well, we came here to make sure you show up!" Mary chirps, probably way too cheerfully. "Momo-chan was right, you _are_ hiding in your room..."

"Usually I am a pacifist but Mary is looking forward to this, so I showed as back up!" Seto offers, Kido nodding along,

"Me as well. Kisaragi here prompted the keys, whereas Seto and me will provide force if necessary. Mary is present, in her words "for funsies" and for "if things go sour". That is, she'll use her power on you if you resist too much."

Shintaro needs time to process this correctly. He turns to his screen, saves his project and closes the program. This was probably gonna take a while.

He turns to them in his rotating chair. "Okay, first of all, I'm not _hiding._ Why would I be hiding? What do I need to show up to? Where are you guys forcing me to go to?"

"The Punch!"

"...What punch?"

"The Punch, Ene-chan is gonna punch the crap out of your face after she gets home from work," Momo helpfully clarifies. Why are they saying "The Punch" with such importance?! "She sent invites to all of us via text."

Good timing to remember Takane is a devil of a woman.

"...I'm pretty sure we said slap," Shintaro tries to dodge, but the four of them shake their heads at the same time.

Kido affirms with determination, "No, it's a punch."

"I'm... starting to worry you don't know what's gonna happen?" Momo winces, because at the end of the day she _is_ his sister, and at least someone here should be worried for his safety. "Do you?"

"I... um. I'm good," he is absolutely not good. "Why would I be scared?"

"None of us said you were scared though," Seto smiles awkwardly, and Mary adds,

"We know, of course. But no one said it."

"I am not scared and I do not need four people to force me out of my room to take me to the hideout, alright? I will go there myself. I will walk there myself with you guys so you will see."

"Alright then."

Shintaro's legs shake when he gets up from his chair.

* * *

"Do you guys ever wrestle with each other?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you and Enomoto ever wrestle with each other?"

Upon arriving to the hideout, Shintaro had immediately fled to Haruka's room for shelter. It's also Takane's room, which isn't helpful, but he knows for a fact she's still at work, so it should be safe at the moment. However, Haruka is looking at him like he's insane.

It currently seems to be a common theme between Ayano, Takane and Haruka to look at him like that.

"I, well?" Haruka shakes his head. "Is "wrestling" supposed to stand for something dirty? Are you asking about sex?"

"No! I– Ugh," Shintaro groans, rubbing his hands on his eyes in exasperation. Haruka simply continued to look at him from his desk, where he had been drawing. "I mean what am I worrying about, right? Enomoto– she's probably in worse shape than I am, right? There's nothing for me to worry about, _right?"_

He sounds so desperate Haruka can't even mask the pitiness he looks at him with, "Oh, Shintaro-kun. Takane is not weak."

"Shut up! She is! She spent two entire years without even _walking!_ Her bones must be like jelly!"

"They were at first, but she and I attended physical therapy, so we're alright now~" Haruka calmly explains, though he still looked at him with those sorry eyes. "As of now we've been discharged already and she's been regularly working out since then."

Shintaro feels as if his face had melted off, " _Huh._ "

"I didn't keep up with it because sports aren't really my forte, but Takane and Kano-kun usually attend the gym together twice a week! She isn't particularly fond of sports either, but she says she wants to keep in shape, so– "

"Excuse me!" Shintaro yells out. "What does she do at the gym!?"

Haruka looks up, as if he was deep in thought. He crosses his arms and hums, "Hmm, I'm not sure? I haven't really asked? Maybe she uses a punching bag?"

"HARUKA!"

"Sorry, sorry! I was joking!" he giggles, and before peace would set inside of Shintaro, Haruka clarifies, "About the punching bag, not the other stuff. Takane really does work out."

"I'm dead," Shintaro falls in his knees. "Isn't there any way you can help me? She's gonna be here any minute now. Haruka, you are the only person she will listen to."

"Well..." Haruka sighs, "I can't say I support her choice to hit you."

"I don't either."

"But... at the same time, she really wants this," Haruka says, and Shintaro continues to die inside. "And I love that shine in her eyes when she's this excited. Oh, I haven't seen her because, well, she's still at work, but she called me on the phone and her voice sounded _so_ cheerful and ah, it makes me so happy– "

"Haruka. Haruka, buddy," Shintaro interrupts. "Your girlfriend will murder me."

"Don't be so dramatic, she's just gonna punch you," he tells him, and hearing his easiness makes _Shintaro_ want to punch _Haruka._ "And as much as I don't condone violence– I do understand her reasons."

" _God,_ not you too!"

Why is everyone absolutely okay with this? Why is everyone on board? Why is no one saying "Takane, stop it, this is crazy"!?

"Ene-chan, stop it, this is crazy!"

Shintaro hears those glorious words as soon as he gets out of Haruka and Takane's bedroom, only to identify the owner of the voice as Kano himself. He can see him in the living room (which seemed weirdly spacious, but Shintaro can't point the reason why as he stands in the hallway), along with Takane herself. He's about to confidently take a step forward, because despite it's _Kano_ of all people, he'll take any defense he can get.

But before he could, Kano goes, "I _told_ you, the power comes from the back foot," he puts one of his feet behind to demonstrate, "So it's all one motion through the body when you throw your fist forward."

He gets both his fists up, swinging one forward in the air, "So there's a twist, and you keep your shoulder down as you throw it out– POW!"

"Okay, so, one foot behind?" Takane, without a second of hesitation, repeats Kano's position and movements, as the blond boy quickly nods and adjusts her better.

"Yep!"

"And– okay, I think I got it."

Kano held his palm up for her, as Takane swung her fist towards it to try a hit. Kano beams, "That was an ouchie! Well done, like that!"

And they both laughed together.

Shintaro gulps and takes a few steps back. Well, of course. If there was anybody here who wanted to watch Shintaro get punched in the face, that's Kano Shuuya.

Okay. There's a window in the bathroom. They're not in a first floor so there's a chance he'll die if he jumps through it but that's somehow better than the idea of Takane just beating him up herself. He's about to run to the bathroom, but as soon as he turns around, he is welcomed by none other than Ayano.

"God! Ayano, I almost tackle you to the floor!"

Ayano simply grabs him by the jacket, much like Takane had done earlier in the day when she wanted to get away from her co-workers, and dragged him with her inside one of the other rooms. More especifically, the one Ayano and Kido share.

"What did you do to let it get to this?" Ayano shoots, as soon as she closed the door behind them. Her hands rested on her hips as if she was a scolding mother. "I simply told you to talk to her."

"I did! And she didn't take it! What else am I supposed to do? I couldn't stand the idea of you being mad at me!"

She softens, but only slightly, "You... were willing to take a punch from Takane-san just so I'd stop being mad at you?"

" _Yes!"_

"You... make it really difficult to be mad at you, you know?" Ayano smiles for a second, and just as Shintaro thought he was off the hook, the smile disappears as she hovers over a confused expression, "Wait– did you _tell_ her I got mad at you because of this?"

"Um, yes?"

She furrows her brows again, "Dummy! No wonder she's furious!"

"Huh!?"

"I told you! I don't want you to apologize just because I think you should! I want you to do it because you know you need to! You, no one else!" Ayano sighs. "How do you think Takane-san feels when you come forward after all this time to say "let's make up not because I care about you but because this other person I do care about wants me to"!"

"I didn't say it _like that–_ " 

"Shintaro!" Ayano holds her hands up as if she wanted to squeeze the air. "I simply told you to _apologize!"_

"I _did!_ And she– "

Hm?

Wait.

Wait a second. Hm?

Flashback to the conversation with Takane, review it. Review it, review it. Did he apologize? Did he apologize in between all his stuttering and excuses?

He'd love to say he can't remember the detail, but Shintaro can't even lie to himself about something like memory.

He did not apologize.

That's why Takane didn't accept the apology. _He didn't offer it in the first place._

"Oh my god," Shintaro says out loud. "I'm... the absolute worst."

"You aren't," Ayano softly says, as opposed to how angry she seemed. "You really aren't. You're such a sweet and lovely person, and I love you. But you need to show that side of you to her... you need to show Takane-san you genuinely appreciate what she did for you."

He breathes in, closing his fists in determination. "I– okay. Okay, let's go."

"...Are you sure?" Ayano blinks at him in surprise. "Takane-san– she had this crazy look in her eyes. I – I could help you get out if you wanted, I'm sure we can come up with something to sneak you out– "

"No, it's okay," Shintaro nods, and holds his hand out for her. "Let's just go."

Albeit hesitantly, and clearly very worried about him, Ayano takes his hand and squeezes it reassuringly. They get out of the room together.

When they step into the living room, everyone is already there, and they all beam at Ayano,

"Big sis! Good job, you found him!" Kano exclaims.

Next to him, holding a bowl of popcorn that he kept trying to get them away from Momo, Hibiya rolls his eyes, "We started to think you chickened out and somehow managed to get out."

Wait, popcorn? Is this a joke to them!?

Shintaro can also see they had moved all the furniture to the sides so there'd be more space in the middle, where Takane stood in glory, looking intimidating as ever despite she was still wearing her uniform, with the apron and all.

He takes in a shaky breath. Oh, man, this is for _real._

Ayano gives him a look of determination before joining everyone else in what seemed to be the audience. _The fucking audience._ Hibiya has popcorn, for god's sake.

"It's okay, I can handle this," Shintaro announces, very much lying. "Everyone can leave now."

"We're here for the show, Shintaro-kun," Mary simply answers. Shintaro groans. Do they all want him beaten this bad?

"Okay, you ready?" Takane's voice is suddenly directed at him again, and when Shintaro turns to see her, he realizes the situation. He already knew it, but seeing her standing in front of him, and knowing the two of them are in the middle of the room with everyone else on the side watching, was way too much for him to handle.

He breathes in, "O – okay."

Shintaro can only offer a pathetic wince as he stands face to face with her.

Takane gets in position. One foot behind, another forward. Her fist is in the air, and Shintaro immediately flinches, "GAH!"

"I didn't even lean in!" she complains, "You gotta keep your hands down!"

"I – I know!" he pathetically says. "I know. Okay, ugh, okay. Alright. Go."

Again.

Takane gets in position, feet set on the floor, her fist in the air and– Shintaro flinches again, "AGH! God!"

This time everyone in the room groans (except maybe the self proclaimed pacifists such as Haruka and Seto, who were apparently peaceful enough to complain about the whole thing but not peaceful enough to stop it).

"You gotta keep your hands down, man!"

"Putting your hands in your pockets might help!" Haruka suggests from the audience, and everyone else agrees. What a fucking traitor. Shintaro huffs,

"Okay! Fine!" he says, shooting Haruka a death glare, which he doesn't acknowledge. He shoves his hands in his jacket's pockets. " _Fine!"_

And... third time's the charm, right?

Takane gets in position again. Shintaro sees her fist shaking by how tightly she had closed her hand, and he feels his heart throbbing in his throat. Everything is happening so slowly that he thinks he may pass out right here and now, but it doesn't happen, and instead, as Takane swings her fist towards him, he says, "Enomoto!"

And she stops it halfway.

"Enomoto! Enomoto– Ene. _Takane."_

She puts her fist down.

He opens his eyes, and sees her looking at him expectantly but unforgivingly. He takes a deep breath, and without even giving himself time to prepare to be vulnerable in front of literally everyone he cares about, he says, "I'm really sorry. I'm sorry."

Takane's answer is almost a bark, "And what are you sorry for?"

"S – so many things, I don't even know anymore. It's hard to choose."

"How about for telling me I should've died for good?" Takane offers, and everyone else almost lose their minds. They start talking over each other, but ultimately, they were all directly asking Shintaro what the fuck is wrong with him.

He just keeps wincing, "Yeah, maybe that."

Everyone goes silent as Takane adds, "And saying that if you could choose you'd rather not have me as Ene even if that meant you would've killed yourself?"

This time no one says anything, Shintaro nods, "And that."

"And– "

"You– you don't need to list every horrible thing I've ever said to you. I know. I remember them all, even if sometimes I try to convince myself that I don't," Shintaro shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all of it. You're– you're just as important to me as Ayano and Haruka. I was sad about all three of you back then, not just them. I just– I'm just sorry, I guess. I was horrible, and I'm sorry."

Takane's pose was still tense from the intention of punching, so Shintaro's relieved to see the way her body relaxes upon hearing his words. Not only her body, though; her face, too, seemed softer and more understanding. Even her voice, as she lowly says,

"Do you..." she looks at him from head to toe, "Do you mean it?"

" _Yes._ I mean it. Please, I just– " Shintaro glances at their audience before mumbling, "I just want you back in my life."

Everyone awww's, so his plan to whisper it clearly didn't work out. He feels his face heat up, but Takane didn't seem to be as flustered. She simply nodded, almost to herself,

"...Fine," she goes, and takes a step forward. She points a finger at him, her tone and eyes severe, but in a weird way. Almost like it was mixed with softness... "Just... don't ever say anything as remotely hurtful as that to Ayano-chan or Haruka, okay?"

Shintaro nods, fearing for his life for a second, until Takane stepped away. It's only when she does that he's able to properly answer her request, "For the record, you could've gone a little easier on me as Ene."

And there it goes! Shintaro sees his entire, miserable life flash before his eyes as Takane turns around in only one second and lunges her fist on his face.

Instead of feeling like an eternity like in the first three hijacked punches, this one happens in one second. He hears everyone gasping and cursing in surprise, and he suddenly has a stinging, heavy feeling on his nose, along with a wet dripping on his upper lip. 

"Oh my god!" Ayano's voice calls out, and her standing in front of him is the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes. They must've been closed for only a second, but it felt like such a cutscene that he didn't even know where he was even standing anymore. Her small hands are on his now, since he was trying to hold on his own face, "Your nose is bleeding! Mary-chan, get the first aid kit– "

"On it!"

"It better not be broken, that'd be such a pain. Pun intended," Kano helpfully offers.

Hibiya groans, "I'll go get the ice."

He hears Haruka's hushed voice going, "Do you feel better?"

"No, you were right," Takane's defeated answer.

Shintaro sits down, putting his head back like Ayano tells him to do so the blood dripping down wouldn't stain everything. Not to stop the bleeding or anything, she just didn't wanna stain the carpetting.

Seto inspects him, "Hm, It doesn't seem broken..."

"I don't know, it seems a bit crooked to me..." Kido hums. Momo chimes in,

"No, big bro's nose has always been a bit crooked like that."

He's about to yell out that _that isn't true_ when someone shoves cotton balls inside his nose. Mary looks at him in distress, "Sorry! It must still be sore! Oh, I don't think it's broken, but it is _definitely_ gonna be swollen for a few days..."

"Yeah, you're gonna have a big purple stain on the middle of your face, dude!"

"Ah, you poor thing!" Ayano whined, brushing his bangs back and kissing his forehead as if that helped. She's suddenly holding a bag of frozen peas against the swollen area too, courtesy of Hibiya.

"Hey," suddenly, he hears Takane again. He still has his head back despite already having the cottons in his nose, so he has to straighten up to look at her. Despite his best effort, he can't bring himself to yell at her. "...You alright?"

"Do I _seem_ alright?"

"No," she smiles. She _dares_ smile. "Sorry?"

Shintaro leans his head back again, and sighs, "...Apology accepted."


End file.
